


Turn My Head and Shut My Eyes

by bastilas



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Newt is a business man, and Graves is a zoo research director, this is the least angsty thing ive written so far
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 08:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16636631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bastilas/pseuds/bastilas
Summary: Reverse Gramander Modern AUNewt spends each and every day mourning a life he'll never have, stuck in an office arguing about stocks — until he meets Percival Graves.





	Turn My Head and Shut My Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on tumblr a while ago, but felt it should be posted on here too : )
> 
> Also this isn't really edited well so sorry for any mistakes

The day starts like any other. Newt ignores the alarm blaring from his phone for three minutes straight before gaining the presence of mind to shut the damn thing off, drags silken covers off himself, and slinks out of bed. He brushes his teeth as he absently stares at his reflection in the mirror, running over the ridiculously long list of tasks to accomplish for the day in his mind.

His coffee takes five exact minutes to brew. During this, he spends a minute eyeing the cool tones of his bedroom, wishing for the sun to break through the clouds so a warm glow may shine through the windows and save him from the drab monotony that is his room. He didn't pick the decorations — his father did that. He just assumed Newt would like this contemporary design.

Newt sighs. He opens his closet to find a multitude of navy blues, greys and blacks staring back at him.

He picks a black suit coat without second thoughts. What does it matter anyway? It's not like the clothes truly express who he is.

Once his shirt is on, he walks over to his dresser filled with ties and watches, all of which add up to a small fortune he doesn't want to think about. In the tie drawer, it's much the same as his closet — all drab colours. But. There's a tie at the back; one he couldn't resist purchasing at a small local shop in Mexico while on vacation. It's light grey and covered by tiny, tiny flamingos in a randomized pattern all over.

It's absolutely hideous, not belonging with his outfit at all.

It's beautiful.

Newt puts it on, steps up to the full-length mirror, and smiles.

______

While Newt started the day on his own terms, it certainly doesn't end that way. A business deal he was supposed to secure with Gellert Grindelwald, the self-proclaimed king of the stock market, goes derails in what might just be record time for when it comes to stock deals.

"The offer just wasn't good to begin with, Mr. Scamander," Grindelwald had said. "And now you've wasted my time and money. This shines quite terribly on your family and business. Goodbye." And he'd hung up.

Newt lies his head on his desk for a good ten minutes, not letting the tears threatening his eyes to fall. His father and brother will surely be hearing about his colossal failure later in the day.

To make it even worse, when he goes to clear his mind for a minute, his assistant Queenie catches sight of him. "Oh... that's an... interesting tie, Mr. Scamander."

He can't take it anymore.

That's how Newt finds himself in Central Park Zoo — at three in the afternoon — while he should be working on a report to summarize Scamander Ltd.'s employee pension costs for the year. But instead, he's paying to get into the zoo, and reading each plaque describing the captive animals with rapt attention.

Then, he sees flamingos. They're so vivid — even among lush green bushes, grass, and trees.

Coffee in hand, he walks up to them, happy the crowd is a little less dense here. Everyone is too excited by the lion nearby anyway. Newt places a hand on the fence, leaning against it as he watches some of the flamingo's sleep in the sun, soaking up golden rays in perfect peace.

"A big fan of flamingoes?" Someone beside him asks.

He gives a little jump and nearly spills his coffee. He turns and finds his response taken away as he meets eyes with one of the most gorgeous men he's ever seen. His curly hair glows a soft chocolate brown in the sun, his eyes a dark shade of hazel, and his skin just a bit tanned, hinting at quite a bit of time spent outside. But somehow, it's his inviting smile —one that reaches his eyes — that gets Newt in the end.

He realizes he's been staring. A warmth starts to creep up his neck. "What?" He finally manages to spit out, not having meant to ask the question at all.

"You seem to have an affinity for flamingoes. You know, with the tie and all?"

"O-oh. Yes. I like them very much." If Newt could slap himself right now, he would. He thought his father had trained this stupid behaviour out of him, but here he is, stuttering, blushing, and generally making a fool of himself.

But the man just laughs. "I'm Percival. Director of research here at the zoo. I'm normally holed up in my office, so I thought it'd be nice to come see the animals and chat with people for a bit."

"Well, you have very nice flamingoes here."

Percival laughs again. "I'm glad to hear it. Did you know they only weigh four to eight pounds? You wouldn't think it by looking at them. I really like the tie, by the way."

Newt looks down at it. It's just a stupid tie from Mexico. Queenie clearly didn't like it, and judging by the looks he received on the way to work, not many people did. But Percival does. Of course he does; he works at a zoo where people come to sight-see and have fun, not argue about stupid stocks all day.

Tears cloud Newt's eyes before he can stop them.

Percival's smile quickly fades away. "I- I'm sorry? Did I say something wrong?"

Newt blinks his eyes rapidly, looking down and wipes tears that begin to fall from his eyes, cutting a warm path down his face. "No, no," he sniffles, "nothing wrong. I just... I'm not having a great day." God, he hopes nobody around them is witnessing this pitiful performance.

"Oh. Okay, is it alright if I take you to my office? I have tissues."

What? Why in the world does Percival want to help him, a random man wearing a stupid flamingo tie and having a breakdown at a fucking zoo exhibit? If his father could see him now...

Newt sniffles again and Percival places a gentle hand upon his shoulder. "Here, just follow me."

They walk through several different areas of the zoo, with Newt trailing behind Percival, his tears starting to come to a stop as he forces any and all subjects of stress as far from mind as possible. It's perhaps not a healthy method of dealing with it, but it sure as hell is effective.

Finally, Percival stops in front of a somewhat small red brick building, then unlocks an old wooden door. "It's kind of musty in here, and it isn't my main office, but it's away from other people." He unlocks another wooden door and pushes it open. "And here I am."

Newt steps in with him, surprised to find a room filled with neatly ordered books, perfectly stacked papers, and spotless desks. The only signs of personality come from a couple of images of Percival posing with some of the animals in the zoo. He doesn't wear a warm smile in these photos, oddly enough.

Percival plucks a couple of tissues from the box and hands them to Newt. "Go ahead and take a seat," he offers.

Newt does, so Percival follows his lead and sits at his desk. Newt wipes away any errant tracks of tears left remaining upon his face.

"Sorry, I never asked for your name," Percival says.

Newt finally manages to look him in the eye and finds genuine concern and curiosity.

"Newt Scamander."

"Scamander? As in the fancy golden tower downtown?"

Newt sighs. "The one and only."

He waits for the questions, for the judging remarks that always follow once someone figures out he's the head of the company here in New York, but they don't come.

"Hmm. I didn't take you as the flamingo tie-wearing type of guy, but I guess you never know."

"Apparently nobody did."

Percival raises an eyebrow, humour fading from his features. "What's that mean?"

"I just—" Newt takes a deep breath in. Oh god. Here he goes, about to spill all his troubles out on a goddamn zoo research director. "I've always followed what my father and brother wanted for me. I looked in my closet for something to wear this morning, and everything was so lifeless. So I chose this tie. I knew it didn't fit this outfit, but I couldn't take it anymore, you know? I j-just got so fed up with how you're supposed to dress a certain way, work in a building with the same interior and architecture as a hundred others in this city, how it's all so plain, and blue and boring!"

Newt expects Percival to draw back, to think him a freak for saying this all to a stranger, but again he proves Newt wrong. Instead, he nods.

"Oh, I can understand," he states, voice full of meaning.

Newt's eyes widen. "Really?"

"Mmhmm. I didn't always work at a zoo. In fact, this is somewhat of a recent venture. I used to be in law enforcement for a very long time, and know what it's like to be crushed under the wheel of expectations."

Newt gives another sniffle, annoyed at the reminder he'd cried, but allows himself to lighten up. "What made you change to this profession?"

"I've always liked animals, for as long as I could remember. But I didn't think I'd get too far with that interest, and my father wanted me to follow in his footsteps so badly that I felt I had no other choice. I stayed for a very long time, doing something that sucked the life out of me because I thought I had to do it. It was expected of me. But that all changed when I... when a case went wrong and I..."

Percival hesitates. His gaze goes distant and glazed.

Newt inches forward in his seat. "You don't have to say. Really. I'd understand."

"No, no. I have to be able to handle this, I told myself that. I was... I was taken captive by a murderer we were after. It was for a couple of hours. It wasn't long, I know that, but I— I thought I was going to die. And that was enough."

"O-oh. That sounds absolutely terrifying."

"Yes, it definitely was. But, ah, what I'm trying to say, is that at some point, it eats you alive, doing something you don't want to do. So I understand why you broke down, even if I don't know the entire story behind it."

What an unexpected turn of events. Newt never really thought he would find a person he could relate to, let alone someone who shares the same interests as him. In some odd way, he's glad Grindelwald turned the deal down, and Newt's especially happy he chose to wear the flamingo tie, as he doesn't think Percival would've even come up to him.

"I screwed up a deal today. Majorly. My father will be furious with me and it'll set us back months and maybe even damage our reputation. I'm sorry for laying this all down on you. For crying after you complimented me, but thank you so much for just listening to me. I think this was a long time coming, and if it wasn't today with you, it could've been a lot worse."

Percival smiles again, with that same warmth that captured Newt's interest the first time. "I'm glad to help. As I said, I've sort of been where you have. It's not a fun nor easy position to be in. But I believe in you, and your ability to do what you think is best for yourself."

Newt smiles back. Then he laughs. "You know, I used to watch animal documentaries in my spare time. I dreamt about becoming a zoologist whenever I let my imagination free. Somehow I didn't think this would be the way I ended up in an office at a zoo."

"Never thought I'd be working here either, yet here I am."

Newt keeps eye contact with Percival and full-on grins. "Thank you, I needed this." And then he stands. "But I do need to be back at the office. I left without warning, and really hope they don't think I went missing."

"I would hope not. That wouldn't make a good news story. 'Company CEO thought missing found at the zoo.'"

Newt chuckles. "No, that sounds terrible. But really, thank you. A-and... I hope this isn't too forward but... may I ask for your number?"

Percival wastes no time finding a pen and paper. He quickly scribbles his number out and slides it over to Newt, winking as he does so. "Just remember, I wasn't always this care-free or happy. The job change did that to me. You may find it does the same for you."

Newt takes the offered piece of paper and carefully tucks it into his pocket. "Got it," he says. "Well, goodbye. And thank you again."

Percival nods. Newt takes that as his signal to leave.

Once his back is turned and he's left out the doorway, he hears Perical call out, "A coffee date sounds great sometime."

A blush spreads across Newt's cheeks, and he smiles down at the silly little flamingos dotting his tie.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and leave a comment if u enjoyed!!! 
> 
> Follow me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bastila-s) : )


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